Acts chpt 7

So tonight we read Acts chapter 7. Long chapter--60 verses I think it was. The chapter is of Stephen telling the legalistic crowd about the Jewish history. At the last 10 verses or so, he switches gears and starts telling them that they were no better than their anscestors. The pharisees and Jewish crowd had just about all they could handle, dragged Stephen outside the city and stoned him. 

I suppose this could really go along with chapter 6, where it starts out with Stephen and the Jewish leader and people fussing with Stephen. The thing was, the Holy Spirit was giving Stephen the words to say, so it was hard to talk against him. Not a people to give easily, they talked some folks into lying about what Stephen actually said. So, in chapter 7, Stephen sets the record straight, and gets himself killed. 

What really gripped my heart and made me tear up each time this was read, was at the very end, Stephen prays for God to not hold this sin against the people. The he went to sleep and died. Personally, I happened to read this myself several times, and had the same, "punched in the gut" feeling each time. Could I ever be so full of the Holy Spirit that I could actually pray that God have mercy on the people trying to hurt me? I don't know. I wish I could say an emphatic YES, but the truth is, I simply don't know.

What I do know though, is that of here late,  I've had anything but patience for those who were against me. It would be over stupid, silly, doesn't-amount-to-a-hill-of-beans kind of stuff. What was the difference? What made the people of old able to pray and keep going until death about the love God had for mankind? I considered the following:

1. Stephen was indwelled by the Holy Spirit. 
2. I was also indwelled by the Holy Spirit. 
3. Stephen was a child of God
4. I'm a child of God. 
5. Stephen was active in the local church, waiting tables and feeding the widows and such. (See Acts 6:2-4)
6. I'm not really involved in a church. A group of friends and I "sort of"  "do church" on Sundays, but we didn't have to do near the work that Stephen did, or even that Paul did. 

Now I know that one doesn't have to be busy in a local congregation--often, if we're not careful, we wind up so busy working 'for' God, we don't spend time "with" God. Big difference. 

Through all of this, I'm reminded of a passage a preacher friend of mine once said, "When, and if God decides we need to be used in a certain manner, or go through a certain trial, He will give us the grace to go through it". In other words, God's grace is sufficient for us. Always. 

Tonight was a quick talk through, but Stephen's words still ring out in my ears...

Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:57-60 NKJV)

Colossians 2 August 1, 2013

So tonight we read through chapter 2 of Colossians. 
  
Tonight was interesting. It was all good as usual, but something caught my eye, we discussed it a bit. I'd love to get your take on it. 
In Colossian 2, we read:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

I'd wondered exactly what the "elemental spiritual forces of this world" was. Growing up, anything that joined the words "spiritual" and "world" always centered around some sort of demon stuff. According to a footnote in BibleGateway, the forces were the same thing as principles. So, exactly what were the "elemental spiritual principles  and human tradition that hollow philosophy and deceptive philosophy depended on? 

I thought maybe it was demonic influence. That was just because, as mentioned earlier, anything with "spiritual" and "worldly" meant 'bad'. Daddy brought up a suggestion that the word "elemental' meant basic, so that, as a child, we were taught some rituals meant to keep us focused on Christ. Such as, 

• Bow your head when you pray. 
• Fold your hands. 
• Raise your hands. 
• Wave your hands.
• Close your eyes when you pray. 
• Stand for scripture reading. 
• Say the blessing. 
• Partake in the Lord's Supper every Sunday
• Say your prayers at bedtime. 
• Kneel beside your bed when you pray. 

And so the list goes. Now, by themselves, they're not bad. If participating in these rituals help us, as children, keep our eyes on God, then fine. But there comes a time when we need to put childish things away, and really know the Gospel from the inside out. There comes a time when rituals become just that... rituals and traditions. We do certain things because our parents did them, and their parents before. Paul is beseeching the folks at Colossi to not be deceived through smooth talking religious folks that might sound good, but really aren't sharing the gospel. 

It came to me, that in order for me to not be deceived by the ramblings of religious people, I need to know what the gospel is, Who the gospel is, and bounce everything I hear or read concerning Christ, off of Christ. Read and listen through the Holy Spirit filter. I may listen to what others say, but, I won't believe it until the Holy Spirit reassures me that truth is being spoken, or cautions me that error is being spoken. 

So, this is my take on it. Any thoughts? (I'll post the video after I upload it to YouTube)

Galatians 6 July 11, 2013

So, we recapped on chapter 5, which was basically to love your neighbor as yourself, the fruit of the spirit, then moved on to chapter 6. I must say, there were a few verses in chapter 6 that threw me for a loop. I almost understood it, but thought I would still put the proverbial checkmark by it, just the same.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

I understood the first few verses--don't go pointing fingers at a brother or sister who is struggling with a sin. Pull them off to the side, and see if there's anything you can do to help them escape that entanglement. Don't embarrass them. Carry each other's burdens. That's plain and simple... that's the "love in action" thing. Verse 3? Don't be so arrogant. Don't be 'holier-than-thou'. Verses 4, 5 and 6? Not quite so sure. Although I understand that we're not to compare our actions against someone else's actions, and we're to make sure we're "doing right"... is that pretty much a check list?? Do I really want a check list? Then the Christian walk becomes a "to do" list, instead of just living. 

• Did I read my Bible today? ✓
• Did I say my morning prayer? ✓
• Was I nice to my family? ✓

Well, you get the point. I don't want my life to be a check list, because then it becomes about me, instead of about God. 

I'm not sure what we're supposed to share with the instructor either. (verse 6). Just our thoughts to let the instructor know we've learned something? I'm not sure. 

If you have any idea, would you share it in the comment section? 

Thanks bunches!

Galatians 5 June 30, 2013

So, this evening reference was Galatians 5. of course, the immediate reference of Galatians 5:22 came to mind. You know the one. The one that speaks of the fruit of the spirit? I suspect most every faithful church goer has memorized it.

"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, against such there is no law."

Did I get it right? 

But, the topic of our Bible study wasn't neccesarily the fruit of the spirit. I don't know that I've ever read that chapter in context since understanding the New Coveannt, or if I had, it's been a while. 

So, Paul is fussing at the Galatians for comingling law and grace. He reminded them that circumcision was NOT what he was preaching. Had he been preaching that, he admitted that he probably wouldn't be persecuted so much. He reminded them that they were not under law, but under grace. Re-reading it, it seemed like Paul was pitching a fit to get the Galatians back on the track of Grace. 

This got me to thinking, God used some chatters and the ministry of People to People Ministries (now called Basic Gospel) to teach me His New Covenant. The Galatians had Paul to teach them. So, who was teaching the New Covenant from the time of Paul's death to the time I heard about it in 1999? This particular ministry has been around since about 1985, so why didn't I hear about it? Going to church pretty much all of my life, why didn't I ever read it? I had several Bibles to read, and even did lots of personal studies. Why didn't I get it? Several preachers that I listened to, from evangelical to pentecostal, cautioned listeners to not take their word for the meaning of the Bible, but to ask God to reveal it. Odd. Did I not do that? One preacher preached with gusto the "once saved, always saved" theology, the other preached, "backslide into hell" theology. They couldn't both be right. But with my limited knowledge, it seemed to me that they both had valid points. 

I wonder if God keeps the Gospel hidden until such time as we're ready to hear/receive it? I KNOW I've read the New Testament (and Old Testament for that matter) many many times in the past. How'd I miss the New Covenant? G reminded us that when the Law of Moses was read, there was a veil over our hearts. The purpose of the Law was to lead us to Jesus...lead us to the end of ourselves. I mean, it's not like the words were rearranged all of a sudden.  We had them there the whole time. I'm thinking our prideful hearts just can't accept the fact that Law + Grace just flat isn't where it's at.  So, it's true, until Jesus removes the veil, we won't understand the New Covenant.

I guess this just goes to prove that verse that says the thing of the Spirit makes no sense to the things of the flesh.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Bible Study 5-30-13 Galatians 2

I suppose this was a quick scripture to remind us to be who we are. If we're in Christ, let Him shine through. In Galatians 2, Paul is recapping his memoirs of who he was, and how he came to be. At the time this letter was written, Paul had no concern with anyone else's status, be they Jew or Greek. He was who he was, and Christ had compelled him to preach the unadulterated gospel. It made no never mind that "leaders" sent false brethren to spy out their freedom. He was who he was, and encouraged the folks at Galatia to be the same. He reminded them that he even had to call Peter out on his hypocrisy--eating with the Gentiles until the Jewish leaders came onto the scene. 

Why did Paul care about Peter's testimony? Apparently, it wasn't just Peter being affected that was the problem. This little hypocritical act of Peter's not only messed himself up, he had led Barnabas astray as well. In fact, several other Jews got on the bandwagon against the Gentiles--when the leaders came in. 

What about us? Are we more cautious, or allow the opinions of others to persuade us into doing things not quite right? Do we succumb to peer pressure?Do we give in to religious bullying? 

This particular mindset gives me courage to stand up to church bullies or religious bullies. Although I won't engage in an argument, and argue doctrine with religious leaders who feel they have the corner market on the gospel, I don't want to be one of the ones that deny the Holy Spirit that lives within me, just to avoid conflict. 

We were once told that if we find ourselves going through a particularly unpleasant circumstance, where our faith in God is called into question, hang in there, God will give us grace for that moment. There is grace for every need. However, until that time comes... just relax. 

Bible Study 5-23-13 Galatians 1

Having finished up the New Covenant Bible Study put out by the ministry formerly known as People to People (Now called BasicGospel), G decided to take us back through the book of Galatians. We've all read it before. One thing we all agree on, is that no matter how many times we read certain scriptures in the Bible, God never fails to instill some little tidbit that we'd not seen before. 

One such incident was Paul saying that if we listen to some other gospel other than what he's preached, then it's no gospel at all. A passage we'd read many times before, but as I sat and contemplated this, I thought how subtle some of these "different gospels" are. Of course we can roll our eyes at the obviously false doctrines, but what about those who are "almost" right? Sadly, we have these in our denominations today when it comes to being made righteous, and a big one--that concerning forgiveness and eternal life. 

Salvation by reciting the sinner's prayer? Baptism? Eucharist? Good works? Speaking in tongues? Most every assembly will be quick to claim the verse, "By grace are you saved and not of yourselves" and nod with their competitors in agreement. Then the "but" comes in. 

• "But you also have to pray and ask God..."
• "But you also need to be baptized in order to..."
• "But you actually receive Christ through the Eucharist..."
• "If you don't speak in tongues, you're not really saved...."

On and on it goes. Not only does it cause strife among the people who call themselves Christians, it winds up being just a bit different than the gospel Paul and the other Apostles preached. Just a bit different, not too much. 

But what did Paul say?

 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!   

Not even the least little bit would he allow the gospel to be changed.
What about us? Do we allow our ears to be tickled by the gospel + our denominational persuasion? 

Bible Study 5.5.13. Living Out Our Identity

Tonight's scripture all revolved around our identity in Christ. What makes a Christian a Christian? Is being good, good enough to be called a Christian? Perhaps going to church or giving monies to charities? Exactly what differentiates a Christian from a Protestant or catholic?

We become Christians when we put our trust in Christ's finished work. When that happens, several things take place:

1. We pass from death to life.
2. We are conformed in Christ's image.
3. We now have permission to call God Abba, Father.
4. We have a new name "God's children"
5. We become part of the Body of Christ.

There was much discussion on who we are, and how our lives reflect that. Give a listen!

Bible Study 425-13

So, I only thought last week was to be my last vlog for a while. (vlog??) Things worked out where I am able to post a bit.

Tonight was just effervescent. We started off talking about the plum line for righteousness was perfection. Verse after verse was read about how people were to be perfect in bringing their sacrifices  and if the weren't, they were to be cut off from their people. Nothing less than perfection would do. Since none could obtain perfection through works, mankind was a lost hope, right?

Maybe not.

Back in the day,  a person could still obtain God's forgiveness by bringing a sacrifices. The priest could attend his duties, and for a short while, the said person would be absolved. This was all under the Law, though. We talked about now how that we're not under the Law; Jesus freed from it, and therefore it has no hold on us.

We spoke of how easy it is to not do the 'big' sins... well, for the "average Joe", and we could easily  name the "nasty nine" and "Dirty dozen", but what about when God says, "do", and we "don't'? What then?

Good discussion about how discouraging some groups of believers could be. It was said that if all we hear from the pulpit was how bad we are, and how we need to get our act together, and how we need to try  harder, what's the use? If we're also told we can't do it, why try? Why does it matter?


Salvation was compared to the new wine skin. How new wine isn't poured into old skins, otherwise, the new wine would case the old skin to burst, and both wine and bag would be lost. New wine still has some fermenting to do. Salvation, (new wine) is just the start of this wonderful journey in our relationship with God. We "ferment" when we grow in God. Heather admitted she had an awful lot of fermenting to do. I agreed with her.

Have a listen if you can--long, but fun!

Bible Studies 4-18-13

This was a wonderful study, and lively discussion. This will also be the last Thursday Night Bible Study I'll be uploading for a while. Time is in scarcity for a bit, and there's none left to devote to these uploads or blogs. 

However, I do hope you'll give this a listen to. 

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

What about the people who are unable to speak aloud? Stroke victims? Deaf? Mute? What say you?

Bible Study 4-11-13

Tonight was rather long, but enjoyable. It was good to have my niece with us. We talked about the reason that the crucifixion was necessary, and exactly how did this sin thing come about?
Lively discussion as to whether or not Eve was present when God gave the commandment to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We know God said don't eat it, but did He really say don't touch it? Does it matter? Take a listen and see for yourself..

Bible Study 4-4-13

The theme around this study was the validity of the Bible. How can we trust it to be true? Can we really depend on the contents between the covers to be accurate? True?
It was brought up that, without the Holy Spirit, the Bible is just going to be another book to study on an academic level.

Personally, through my years of studying and living, I've realized that as a young girl, I worshipped "The Bible", without realizing it. While I do appreciate the Bible, it's with God that I need to rest my dependency on. The Apostle Peter reminds us that although we ourselves are but temporal, the word of God endures forever.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word was with God. 

God's word is eternal, without beginning or end, but this book we call "The Bible" is not.
The prophets wrote down what God told them to wrote down, and it was accurate. In the New Testament, some of the apostles that were close to Jesus wrote down their account, their diary, if you will, of what life was like with Jesus. After His ascension, the Apostles wrote letters, not necessarily to us, but for the new converts of the day. I wonder if Paul, Peter, John, and the others had a clue that the letters they wrote to the different people, would wind up in a collection of readings we call "The Bible"? Sure, they said, "Go spread the gospel," but did  they realize their written words would be used as a tool to know of this Gospel that saves?

Interesting ponderings.

Bible Study 3-28-13

Due to technical difficulties with the video camera, this past week's Bible Study will not be uploaded.
Bummer. It was good, too.
I really liked the way G took the crucifixion verses, then tied them in with the New Covenant scriptures found in Hebrews. We read Matthew 26:

 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.  Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

Jesus COULD have called  the angels down to wipe us out, but then how would scriptures be fulfilled?
Another verse we read was found in John 19:

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,“They divided my clothes among them    and cast lots for my garment.”^[a]So this is what the soldiers did.

and also...

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 

This was an 'aha' moment for me, as I'd never realized even while going through the agony that Jesus did, fulfilling His Father's will was foremost on His mind. When he knew all scripture had been fulfilled, He was able to say, "It is finished". The Old Covenant was finished. The Old Testament was finished. When Jesus died, the New Covenant was ushered in, and that is where we live today.

G somehow tied this into one of the New Covenant scriptures. Cameraman-son remembers it being Romans; but I keep wanting to go back to Hebrews. G isn't here to ask, so soon as we find out the verse he tied it into, we'll post that as well.
Enjoy the New Covenant!

Bible Study 3-21-13

This was a pretty meaty lesson. Having filled in as a substitute camera person, I was not as coherent as I wish I could have been. This lesson spoke of time lines....when was Jesus born, when did He die, and exactly just who was He? Daddy brought up a point that I had never thought of before. Most of the disciples referred to Him as Lord; Son of God, the Christ, etc. Judas Iscariot, however, simply referred to Him as Rabbi, 'Teacher". That had never dawned on me before. Did Judas ever refer to Jesus as who He was? Messiah? Lord? God incarnate? Did Judas ever have faith? "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." This probably wasn't supposed to be the main idea, but it is something that struck a chord with me.

Bible Study 3-14-13

So, we're starting on the ten week study of the New Covenant. All of our studies surround the New Covenant, but this format that we're following now starts "in the beginning" and plainly lays out when, how, and why the New Covenant happens, and how it relates to us today.
One of the "aha" moments was relating to God's will. We always wonder, "What is God's will for my life", but you know, God's will is much like the will we leave our loved ones after we die. When Jesus died, we inherited all that was His. God's will for us is eternity with Him.

Bible Study 3-7-13

This weeks verses came out of 2 Timothy 3. We read and discussed the whole chapter, but the one thing that caught my eye was in the first few verses:

² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited,lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

My question is, since the number of lost people are greater than the number of saved people, how can we do this? How will the ones living in darkness hear of God's love for them, except we share with them? 

Like many others, I had had an extremely difficult week at work. Actually, difficult two months. I found myself growing irritable being around the people that fit the afore mentioned verses. Regardless of the age group. I couldn't shake my attitude. I didn't like me, and I know others didn't like me. Least they could walk away. I had tried quoting scriptures, renewing my mind, praying, singing P & W songs, yet, nothing could shake this horrible disgruntled attitude of mine. G suggested I try walking in a state of thankfulness. This could be done. Instead of focusing on the horrifically bad state of the world, be thankful for the little gold nuggets that God puts along my path that often get overlooked. 

I tried this for the next day (since our studies fall on Thursday) and I was amazed at how the irritability just started falling off. When one person would start to get under my skin, I would remind myself, "But I do appreciate how someone else treats me" I have several students who God has made to be a blessing in my life, and I do wholeheartedly thank God for them. They're the ray of sunshine in my stormy work days. 
Thank you, Lord, for those precious small blessings!

Bible Study 2-28-13

This was a pretty neat discussion tonight. As we read through the scriptures, we came across the one in 2 Timothy 2, verse 24-25:

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth...

This reminded me of the verse, "Go into all the world and make disciples..."
Personally? The very idea exhausts me. Reading this, it seemed that we are supposed to be on the offense. We've all known some hard heads that are just bound and determine to believe that we're not totally forgiven, or sealed for redemption. They're simply not going to have it. The problem I have is them wanting to argue with me. Just leave me alone, please, and I'll leave you alone.
Now, if you have a question? Sure, I'd be glad to talk to you. But the playing one up game where we try to "win" an argument? No thanks. I just don't have the desire.
So... if you have questions.... look us up. If you want to argue, we won't engage.
Take a look at the video... interesting discussion towards the middle-end part.

Bible Study 2 14 13

So, this was an invigorating discussion. Due to the personal nature of the discussion, some of the discussion was edited out, however, one thing led to another and some questions were asked.
How would you handle being around a gossipy  Christian that got on everyone's nerves? You know the scripture says to go and gently restore the gossipy one, but you also know that this particular person has got on your last nerve, and you don't think you'd be able to talk to them in a kind, loving manner. What would you do?

Bible Study 2 7 13

This was a very quick study tonight. A review on how to treat others, regardless of how they treat us. I know we're supposed to love them and forgive a person for doing us wrong. I don't necessarily have it in me to do, but with the Holy Spirit's conviction, sooner or later, I know His forgiveness will be flowing out of me, onto others.
Hang in there.

Bible Study 1 31 13

Something that was mentioned by Daddy that seemed really profound: God's forgiveness towards us was unprovoked. There's nothing we did in order to provoke Him into forgiving us. He did so because of who He is, not because of who we are. Our "asking God to forgive us" won't make Him forgive us; we're already forgiven. Mankind, including the likes of Hitler and BinLaden, as well as you and me, were forgiven when Jesus died on the cross. Don't ask God to do what He's already done; instead, thank Him for what He's already done (forgiven us) and ask to learn to do things His way (in love) instead of our way (Usually gratifying the flesh)

Bible Study 1 17 13

Interesting. For years, I thought the cornerstone was the first corner on "top" of the foundation. I thought, after the foundation was laid, that people had to start from the corner of the concrete to build the walls. I was thoroughly excited to learn tonight that, the cornerstone is the very first stone BEFORE the foundation is even laid. The first stone that starts the entire foundation and building.
Jesus.
The cornerstone.
He started the whole thing. Without Him, the Church would not exist. No man can build on any other foundation, than that that the apostles started. As generations pass, we simply add more floors to the foundation the Apostles built, that Jesus was the made the cornerstone for.
Nice to know!

Bible Study 1 24 13

Wow, thought I'd try out the "share to blogger" site. Didn't realize that this morning's sermon was the same thing that we spoke about on Thursday night Bible Study. This might spur me on to reviving this blog, although I don't know if it will or not. We'll see Enjoy!